Gaijin Halloween
by Cairnsy
Summary: Six-year old Joey celebrates his first Halloween in Japan. Angst.


Summary: Six-year old Joey celebrates his first Halloween in Japan. Angst. 

Author's notes: Written for the temps_mort children challenge over at Live Journal. Temps_mort is a time based anime fanfic challenge community, and this story took up the whole allotted 80 minutes to write. 

**Gaijin Halloween**

Salmon Peach. 

Shimmer Blue. 

Rustic Silver. 

Strange, how his mother seemed to own every colour invented by the sun but grey. Perhaps, Joey reflected, as he passed on the 'Passionate Pacific' and 'Summer Gold', it was simply that his mother felt that there was enough grey here in Domino as it was, and that the grey buildings and grey sky and grey _people_ hardly needed her to blend in with them all, as well. Perhaps she simply didn't like grey at all, which would explain why his mother so seemed to hate everything about this foreign and weird place that didn't have proper weekends or Jelly donuts, nor baseball fields or Halloween. 

No Halloween. Joey hadn't been able to believe it when his father had first told him that there would be no trick-or-treating this year. Of all the things he hated about Japan the most – and there were enough of them to fill several books – it was the fact they had stolen Halloween from him. 

"No candy," he growled at his reflection in the dressing table mirror. "No parties. No costumes, no games, no scaring." 

No daddy. 

Betrayal tasted bitter when experienced for the very first time, especially, as Joey had found out, when you weren't quite sure exactly who had betrayed you. All he knew was that his father would not be taking a break from his busy work schedule this year to spend time with his oldest child on _their_ special day, and that his mother hadn't spent weeks preparing his costume. 

Domino. Domino was to blame, Joey decided, nodding his head decisively, blond locks flying with random recklessness. Domino had tried to steal away Halloween – to steal away his father – but Domino hadn't counted on one very important thing. 

Joey had caught on to the evil city's plan. And Joey? Was going to do something about it. 

"Perfect Pearl," he contemplated, holding the container in one small hand. It wasn't grey, exactly, but it was certainly pale. It would have to do. 

"And what time do you call THIS?!" the container slipped from his hand as the loud voice of his mother rippled into the room, negating the closed door with apparent ease. "You said that you would be home an hour ago, but now it appears as though I'm going to miss my hair appointment because of what? Honestly James, you would think having two children would teach you something about responsibility!" 

Biting his bottom lip, he quickly slid the lid off of the tube, before squirting some of the liquid onto his hand. He had to fix this, he had to fix ALL of this. It was easy to blame everything on this grey and horrible place, but Joey had learnt quickly that everyone else who lived in Domino seemed to be happy even though they DIDN'T have Halloween. He had certainly never seen any of the other children's parents fight when they were dropped off at school, and everyone else always had someone to sit next to at lunchtime. 

Everyone, but him. 

_"Hel-hello," Joey practically stuttered, the Japanese word stumbling on his lips. He had been going to night class for three months now, but speaking the difficult language was still frighting. "May I sit with you for lunch?" He smiled brightly at the small group, proud of his Japanese, no matter how stilted it was. His smile faltered slightly as one of the members of the group laughed at him, causing the others to join in. Pretending that he knew what they were laughing at, he joined in as well, his eyes pleading for an acceptance that his mouth refused to put into words. Their laughter died off suddenly, as the one who had started it all turned to Joey and rambled off a complicated sentence in Japanese, before getting to his feet and stalking away, his friends following like mindless sheep. _

Joey had only been able to make out one word in the other boy's speech. 

Gaijin. 

Gaijin. The word haunted him. Joey had dreams where everyone at school would surround him, pulling at his foreign blond hair and smirking at the tanned complexion that was uniquely his own. And then, he would wake to find that he wasn't really dreaming at all, that it was all merely part of a hellish circle he'd found himself dropped in when his parents had decided it would be in their 'best interests' to leave the comforts of Brooklyn for Domino. 

They hadn't teased him quite so badly after he'd broken one of their noses two months ago. His mother had been outraged that her 'precious' son had resorted to violence, although somehow she had decided that it was all daddy's fault. 

They still didn't allow him to sit with them during lunch, either way. 

Joey had never really considered himself an envious boy, although that could have been more because he didn't know what the word meant as opposed to ever wanting something he didn't have. But sitting off to the side at class or watching the others play in an inclusive group of all but one, he had found himself burning with a desire to be normal. He had been normal in Brooklyn, and everything had been perfect. His baby sister had been born, his mother had been happy, daddy had been happy. 

So, that everything had fallen apart once they got to Domino had to be because of Joey, and his lack of normalness. 

It made complete sense. To a six-year old. 

"Don't you dare lecture me on how to take care of _our_ children." Daddy's voice was now the one that visited the small room. "You were the one who forgot to pick Joey up from school last month." 

"I did not forget! It is hardly my fault that you did not get my message. And you need to stop babying that boy – he managed to get home fine on his own." 

Wide eyes stared back at him, before closing shut tightly to fight back the mere thought of tears. It had been raining that day, and he'd waited so patiently for his mother to come pick him up. All the other parents were on time. If he'd been in Brooklyn, Joey was sure that Mark or Jeremy's mother would have offered him a ride home, but there had been no such offers from the perfect and proper Domino parents, who cared only for their equally perfect and proper children. 

_She would be here soon, he thought determinedly, hugging his bag tightly to his chest. His mother had said to wait for him on the steps as soon as school finished, that he was not for one moment to stray elsewhere. _

And she wasn't that late. Not really. 

Still though, he wished that she hadn't been quite so specific when she told him where he had to wait. Five meters to his left, and he would have been able to sit under a nice, warm ~dry~ looking ledge. Brown eyes glanced longingly at the shelter, before closing on reflex as he started to cough. Thick droplets fell from the drenched strands of his hair, somehow staining his uniform an even darker shade of blue than the rain already had. 

He wanted to go home. 

He wanted his mother. 

He wanted Brooklyn. Brooklyn, where people always smiled and school was easy and he had heaps and heaps of friends. 

At the moment though, he would have been satisfied with just an umbrella. 

He turned downcast eyes away from the shelter, finding that it taunted him now, instead of offering some kind of promised assistance. His mother would be so angry if he disobeyed her, she was always angry these days, and Joey seemed to be the cause of it all. He could never do anything right, and she was always so upset as a result. 

Joey was not going to do anything wrong today. Besides, it really wasn't that cold, and he was sure he could almost see a snatch of blue sky off in the distance, if he stared hard enough. 

And she would be here soon, he repeated mentally, not noticing how the raindrops were beginning to mingle with salty tears. She would never abandon him. 

Never. 

He had ended up walking, after one of the older schoolboy's had taunted him and commented on how he obviously wasn't brave enough or intelligent enough to get home on his own. At least, that was what Joey thought that the boy had said. Words spoken too fast and entwined with harsh laughter were always difficult to make out. 

By that time, he had been waiting in front of the school for over three hours. 

She had never shown up. 

It had been dark by the time he had arrived home, drenched beyond his skin and into his soul, to find daddy first surprised and then angry to see that he was without his mother. He'd collapsed into his father's warm arms then, unable to hold back tears of fear and pain, retelling in hushed words how he'd seen strange and scary men on the street, and how he'd almost got lost before the nice woman at the grocery shop had given him directions. 

His parents had fought again, that night. 

He brought an angry hand up to his face, smearing the 'Perfect Pearl' across his tanned features. Around eyes that were too large, across a nose that was too wide. A jaw that was too defined. Cheeks that weren't defined enough. 

Skin that was always far too dark. 

But not anymore. 

A shuddering breath escaped his lips as he took in his reflection. His newly pale complexion made him feel almost giddy, although the feeling melted away as his eyes caught his golden hair in the mirror. His hated hair. 

He would shave it all off, if only he knew how to use a shaver. 

But he knew how to use scissors. 

The silver pair that he had placed on his mother's dresser earlier seemed like the most wonderful present in the world, and he picked them up with a sense of reverence and worship. Slowly, he brought them up to his locks, before hesitantly snipping off the tip of the closest strand of gold. He let out a deep breath, before allowing a wide smile grace his lips as he snipped of another tip, and then another. 

Who said that no one celebrated Halloween in Domino? 

His grin grew wider as he began to cut away larger chunks of hair, laughing brilliantly as a particularly big piece fell to the floor. Wild giggles filled the air as he continued with his untamed and random cutting, each forsaken strand of hair a promise that no-one would ever again tell him that he was too strange and ugly to play with them, a promise that his parents would be happy again because they had a normal child just like everyone else. There would be no more taunts or arguments; there would be no more playground bullies or having to walk home in the dark. 

He was going to wear this Halloween costume _forever_. 

Snip. Snip. That stand was the one that made people steal his lunch money. Snip. That strand was the one that made all the other children's parents turn their noses up at him and mutter complicated Japanese words under their breaths. A hysterical laugh bubbled up through his throat as he glanced down at the sea of blond hair that covered the carpet around his chair, wondering if he bled blond as well, and if that was something else he would have to 'fix' also. 

"Joey, what are you doing?" The quiet voice of his father caused him to drop the scissors in shock. He didn't turn towards the doorway, choosing instead to meet his father's eyes in the reflection of the mirror. 

"You're not supposed to see me yet, daddy. I'm not ready." 

"Ready?" He could not here his father's footsteps, muted by the carpet, but he could see daddy approach in the mirror. "What are you getting ready for, Jo-Jo?" 

"Halloween." Joey whispered the word as his father placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, trying to ignore the tears that were starting to cloud his vision. 

When had he started crying? 

"I thought we'd decided that we would try and catch a movie when I next have a day off, instead of celebrating Halloween this year?" 

Daddy never had days off. Not anymore. 

"I … I thought maybe if I got ready, we could celebrate Halloween today, instead." 

"And what have you decided to go as?" His father had crouched down beside the chair, yet Joey found he still couldn't drag his eyes away from the mirror. 

"A Japanese boy." He said it so quietly that he wasn't even sure if his father heard him. "A perfect, intelligent _normal_ boy." 

"Jo-Jo, look at me." No. NO. Not until his costume was complete, and everything had been fixed. "Jo-Jo?" He watched silently as his father raised a calloused; ink stained hand and cupped Joey's face with it. 

"Daddy, don't. The 'Perfect Pearl' hasn't dried yet." The words came out slightly wobbly, even though Joey fought hard to control them. 

"Joey, you are already perfect. You're wonderful and intelligent and enthusiastic. You're kind and funny, and so very, very special." There was a hint of strain in his father's voice. 

"I'm not!" Joey cried, finally turning to his father, pain blazing in his eyes. "I'm not! If I was, then no one at school would pick on me, and I would be able to understand Japanese better and mum wouldn't hate me so much, and-" his father dragged him into a tight embrace before he could even finish his sentence. He found himself drowning in the warm of his father's arms, and, finding that he suddenly couldn't even find the words now to continue his rant, buried his face in his father's shoulder and sobbed instead. Somehow, he managed to choke out odd words between the sobs, ones that sounded roughly like 'ugly gaijin', 'dumb' and 'mother'. 

He wanted daddy to understand. He needed daddy to understand. 

Maybe then, his father could fix it all, because Joey didn't think he could do it all on his own. 

"I want you to ignore all those horrible things people say about you, Joey," his father murmured softly into his ear as his sobs began to slowly trail off. "They hate because they don't understand, but it will change, Joey – I promise you it will." A hesitant hand ran over the short, violent spikes that were all that remained of youthful curls. "You are the most beautiful and wonderful person I know, Jo-Jo. Don't change that for anything. Especially not for those idiots you go to school with." Disdain was heavy in his father's voice. 

"But, Mummy …" Joey buried himself even deeper into his father's embrace, unable to continue. As a result, he missed the way his father's eyes hardened. 

"Your mother is just very … stressed … at the moment. She still loves you more than anything, Joey, and I'm sure when she returns from the shops, she'll tell you exactly that.." His father pulled back from the embrace slightly, then smiled down at Joey. "And you know, I don't really need to go into work tomorrow, but I really DO need to get my hair cut a bit. It's getting rather long. How about we go to the hair-dressers and get our hair done together?" 

"Can we get ice-cream for lunch as well?" Joey asked timidly, tiredly wiping tears from his eyes, streaking his make-up even more. 

"Of course." His daddy whispered, before kissing him gently on the forehead. "We'll have the perfect day." 

The perfect day. A perfect day would be one spent in Brooklyn, with both his parents and baby Serenity in the park, laughing and having fun. There was nothing perfect about Domino, there was nothing perfect about all the grey. There was nothing perfect about him. 

"The perfect day," Joey echoed, forcing a small smile onto his lips. No, not perfect. But he would be with his father, and that was all that really mattered. 

And perhaps daddy would let the barber dye Joey's hair black, while they were having their hair cut. 


End file.
